Sifnos, an island that preserves its tradition

The island of Sifnos is a municipality of the Cyclades prefecture and is located in the western Cyclades in the middle of the triangle Serifos - Antiparos - Kimolos. It extends 74t.chlm. It has a population of around 2000 inhabitants and is located 75 miles from Piraeus. According to the legend, Sifnos was the son of the Attic hero, Sounios, whose name was given to the island. In another version, the name of Sifnos derived from the adjective Sifnos, which means empty, which refers to the number of underground galleries of the underground of the island. For Sifnos, history has to give very interesting information. It was first inhabited by Pelasgians and then by the Phoenicians, Kares and Leleges and was named Merope. During the years 3200-3000 BC, in the island developed the arts and commerce. It had a rapid economic boom due to gold and silver mining. Later, it was inhabited by the Minoans, so it was named Minoa. Pottery, found in the areas of Kastro and St Andrew, witness the effect of the Mycenaean civilization. Around 1100 BC, Iones arrive on the island and starts the season named Golden Age of the island with great agricultural development of pottery and trade.

At that time, according to Herodotus, the ancient capital of Sifnos, the city, is established in the center of the east side of the island at the current Castle. The new city begins to expand, and from the 6th century begins to be surrounded by a wall. The excavations by the British Archaelogogists School in 1934 - 1938 yielded remains of settlements and graves from the 8th century BC indicating the continued life in the castle. The 6th century BC was the era of great prosperity. Indicative that Sifnos was very rich is that in Sifnos were cut coins around 600 BC, after Aegina but before Athens and Corinth. The most important and best known architectural creation of Sifnian undisputed glory and witness thriving economy is the TREASURE OF SIFNOS, which rebuilt and dedicated the residents of the island to the sanctuary Apollo at Delphi. Later, the island joined the Athenian Alliance. Then came the Romans and then Sifnos followed the fate of the other islands. Byzantine, Venetian rule in the Duchy of Naxos, and Barbarossa and his Pirates of the looting, and then the Turks until the final release in 1836.

Keeping all the scars left by years of history, Sifnos is now a beautiful place with traditional villages with whitewashed houses, beautiful beaches and hills on which perched the spread villages. Today, in Sifnos, powerful economic factor is tourism ever-increasing. Sifnos, especially in the summer, is full of people that longs to taste its beauty. Most residents deal with tourism businesses to invest more and more to improve the service to Guests services. There are many hotels and many apartments. With the effort of the State, Municipality and the residents, Sifnos is trying to improve the infrastructure and the living level.